I See
by Tjin
Summary: Xander is tired, one last job for the council and he is on his way to a whole new life. Avatar X-Over
1. Trouble with Tom

The portents were clear, the seers had triple checked the prophecy before they had called him. It was a job that he truly hated.

Watching his target move down the street Xander sighed before stepping out to block his path "Mister Sully," he asked and sighed as the man looked up and noticed him for the first time.

It wasn't the first time they had called him in to do a job like this, it probably wouldn't be the last either, but as the primal part of the other mans mind finally screamed at him the danger he was in Xander pulled the trigger twice and watched as the innocent man died at his feet.

He hadn't always been like this, centuries ago Xander had been a man that would do anything for his friends and family, but spending centuries watching your planet die around you as you fought for it had a way of breaking even the strongest spirit.

Quickly rifling through his pockets Xander pulled out the cash and credit vouchers, they would be dropping in a drainage ditch several miles away.

Avoiding the lifeless eyes of the man he had just murdered Xander turned and walked away from the rapidly cooling corpse.

The seers had assured him that this would be the last thing needed bring about a better future; Xander was finally free of the council.

Taking a deep breath of smog chocked air Xander headed for the space-port, a one way ticket to Pandora burning a hole in his pocket.


	2. Meet the Military

Six years, it took six years to travel from earth to Pandora, or almost six years anyway. Most travel it via cryo, but when you're as ancient as Xander, six years was barely a long break.

Besides, it gave him time to brush up on his Na'vi. The council had fronted more than half the funds needed to start the research project on Pandora, he could honestly just show up and do what he wanted, that's how he managed to get an Avatar grown for himself after all. But the truth was that he wanted to be useful, he needed to find a place where he could live, and perhaps die, in peace.

Of the three groups currently working on Pandora, the Xeno-scientists were going to be the easiest to get on his side. He paid them, let them work unhindered, and didn't interfere with their business; something he had learned centuries ago when dealing with his best friend's obsessions.

The Military contingent on Pandora could be a problem. They were usually hard assed by nature and spending a few decades on a god forsaken rock on the far end of the galaxy where everything wanted to kill you would only enhance that point.

Thankfully Xander had a standing commission of Colonel in the Marines, thanks to a stint served just before heading out, unless they had issued a general to the site Xander should be able to keep them off his ass.

The corporation would likely be his hardest problem, in all honesty Xander had never learned the trick to kissing the ass of people that thought they were better than him, and while the council owned fifty six percent of the stock in the Resource Development Administration the onsite administrator was unlikely to know that.

Taking a deep breath as the medical technicians went through the process of waking everyone up, Xander slowly let it out as a sigh, he was jealous of them, The 'normal' humans that went about their everyday lives with the passion and fear of mortality.

One reason vampires never truly built anything he supposed, why build something you would eventually see crumble into dust.

Shaking the unproductive thoughts off, Xander shifted the last of his gear to the shuttle and found himself a seat near the exit, he wanted off this ship in a bad way.

--

Xander half sneered at the reprocessed air that filled the base, he was tired of mechanically filtered air, it stunk and left a bad taste on the tip of his tongue when he breathed it.

Glancing out one of the armored windows, Xander let the sneer drop as he watched the machinery chew its way through the planet before shrugging it off, humans would be humans after all.

Walking into the briefing room Xander snapped a salute at the grizzled commander of the military detachment, "Special Advisory Liaison, Alexander Harris," he reported before dropping the salute.

Half glaring at the young man before him, Colonel Miles Quaritch returned the salute before looking at the paperwork the REMF's back on earth had sent him. "Says you've seen some hard time; Serbia, Haiti, Palau and thirteen other stations it seems I'm not allowed to read,"he said as he dropped the mostly blacked out papers back onto his desk and sat in the high backed command chair "You mind telling me how someone your age managed to pick up a profile as… interesting as mine?"

Coughing into his hand, Xander straightened his shoulder slightly "Someone 'my age' Colonel would not be at liberty to discuss such matters," Xander said before nodding at the paperwork. "However I do believe there may be something involving an answer in there," he stated honestly and smiled as the aging Colonel turned back to the paperwork.

He could always tell when people got to _that _section of the paperwork; you could also tell a lot from the reaction they gave on reaching that point. Watching the blood drain from Colonel Quaritch's face told Xander that the man had access to information he probably shouldn't.

Looking up at the man in front of him, the scarred soldier swallowed heavily "You're-"

"Not at liberty to discuss it, Colonel" Xander interrupted smoothly before shrugging. "And while my record may indicate several interesting things. Those indications are not to be discussed in any worthwhile manner." Xander finished as the commanding officer of the base nodded.

"Understood, will you be joining our detachments?" the older soldier asked as he slid the papers into a secure safe under his desk "I hate to beg but, someone of your skill would be a real asset to us out here."

Xander shook his head as the commander frowned, "Unfortunately, those godlike beings in power have decided, through their infinite wisdom, that I need a break, and politely informed me of such." Xander explained before shrugging, "When I informed them what they could do with their politeness they froze my combat status and issued me orders out here as a Special Advisory Liaison," Xander said as the old soldier snorted his contempt for the orders.

"That means your combat status has been revoked, Damn it." Quaritch hissed before taking a deep breath "So what exactly do these powers that be want you to do out here?"

"From the wording on the orders and the general sense when I brought it up, I think they want me to keep you, the suits, and our ever friendly scientists, from killing each other," Xander said honestly while he tried to keep the smirk off his face. It had taken a lot of work to get here and the last thing he wanted was for it all to be ruined by him being stuck in the chain of command, this way he was free to do what he wanted without being bogged down by regulations.

"Hell, that may be a harder job then any I can come up with," Quaritch admitted before standing up from behind his desk and saluting Xander. "Well, seems we've been handed a raw egg here, nothing to do but make the best of it." He said before pulling on his stripes "I gotta go give the rookies the doom and gloom speech," he said before looking at Xander "You coming?" He shrugged when Xander shook his head "Suit yourself, if you need anything, just ask. Worst I can do is say no."

Walking out with him Xander watched as he started the briefing before heading towards the command section of the RDA, "What a fucking hard ass," He muttered to himself as he made his way towards his second problem.


	3. Middle Management

Parker Selfridge sighed as the 'Liaison' entered his office; it wasn't that he disliked the man personally, he just hated the thought that those overpaid suits back on earth would send someone all the way out here just to make sure everyone played nice together. Like he wasn't half killing himself to do that already.

"You Harris?" he asked rhetorically as the older man nodded, "Thank god you showed up when you did, I don't know how we survived without your valuable input to this point," Parker said sarcastically as he waved out at the Hellsgate facility he had overseen for the last ten years.

Smiling, Xander nodded in recognition of the sarcasm. Sarcasm he could deal with, sarcasm was the tool of someone unwilling to press a fight.

"Yeah, I can see I've been thrown onto some feet here. Just so you know I was ordered out here because I probably pissed off the wrong stiff in Corporate HR, so they shipped me out to the middle of nowhere to play peace keeper with no authority." Xander shrugged, the lie now slid off his tongue with practiced ease. "So here's how I'm going to do this; I'm going to go play make believe that I'm on vacation for a year or so before heading back to Earth, you _let_ me play make believe and I will head back with a glowing report on your leadership and general management skills. I'll even throw in a recommendation for rapid advance due to profitable policy management in a hostile workplace." Xander said as he laid the carrot out in front of the management peon carefully.

"On the other hand, should you make my vacation unpleasant I will document every flaw, concern and issue I see while planet-side and make up half a dozen more before I get back home. You will never advance, you will never get stock options, you will never get a raise and you will never retire to the manager's retreat. The rest of your natural life will be spent on this mud-ball planet breathing reprocessed air, eating dehydrated food rations and arguing with others on how to do your job." Xander explained the stick portion of the equation carefully, he knew that if he pushed him too far, the spineless little rat would likely lash out at him, but if he didn't push hard enough, he would never submit.

It was a tricky balance to achieve, but several centuries of practice were helpful. By this point, Xander knew the ruthless businessman ego, probably better then the man knew himself. Next would come the return volley.

"Fine, we play it your way." Selfridge said as he calculated the best way to keep this headache away from himself. "But if you interfere with my work I'll have Colonel Quaritch arrange an accident, I'll take the black mark on my record and you will never get a chance to report anything." The up and coming manager swore.

Xander nodded coldly.

"Then I figure we have ourselves an understanding," Xander said before dropping a box on the table. "Have fun." Xander said before walking out the door "Call me if you need me," He tossed over his shoulder before leaving the office proper.

Selfridge waited until the man had left before opening the small box; he couldn't help but smile at the dozen golf balls that were arranged inside on a neatly folded section of Astroturf.

"Nice"

--

Xander resisted the urge to smile as he walked down the hallway, he hated when he smiled, it usually meant he was about to be attacked.

His luck held true to form as he passed an intersection a blow came out of nowhere, crashing into his jaw and sending him to the ground.

"You sonofabitches think you can take me back without a fight?" the attacker growled.

Xander rolled away from the onslaught and was once again amazed at his luck. Twelve billion people on earth, an extra dozen or so scattered across the stars and he just had to run into the slayer.

And a slayer with a serious hate on for the Council no less. Yeah that was pretty much par for the course.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on there, slayer." Xander tried as he retreated from the small woman with an ease born of long practice. "I'm not who you think I am."

The woman snorted. "Alexander Harris, Missions specialist for the Watchers Council."

For a moment Xander tried to formulate a reply before simply nodding. "Okay so I am who you think I am." He admitted before backing up again "But I'm not here for you." He explained and decided that the murderous glare was evidence enough that she wasn't buying it. "I swear, I was burning out and I needed to get away from it all."

"And they just let you go? Right pull the other one." She grated out as she moved to attack again.

Continuing to fall back, Xander tried desperately to explain "Honest, they had the option of letting me go and maybe getting me back someday or trying to force the issue, which one do you think they were going to choose?"

Finally stopping her assault, the slayer glared at him before taking a step back "You're really not here for me?"

"I swear, the first hint I had that you were here was when your fist impacted my face," Xander said before offering his right hand to her. "Alexander Harris, ormerly of the Watchers Council."

After a moment of hesitation, the slim form stepped forward and gripped his hand with the near bone crushing force only a slayer can achieve. "Trudy Chacon, the same." She said before nodding over her shoulder, "So, as it seems were not going to kill each other, want to grab a bite?"

Shaking his head at the rapid shift in thought processes that dominated the slayer's mind, Xander chuckled. "Sure and maybe you can tell me how you got all the way out here."

--

"So after getting away from the Council you ran to Pandora?" Xander asked as he sat down next to the only living slayer and stirred the rehydrated eggs into the ketchup he was using to mask the taste.

"Nah, I joined the Corps. They put me through basic and then flight school, I guess I did pretty well in the Canada Excursion, 'cause the next thing I know they're packing me and my Scorpion up and shipping me out here," Trudy explained as Xander nodded in understanding.

"That's how you slipped through, when the RDA first started up we didn't have anyone on the inside, took us nearly a year before we got someone in Human Resources that could check things like that. You probably slipped through before then," Xander said before frowning. "Wait a sec, you were in the Canada Excursion?" he asked and frowned at her nod "British Columbia or Québec?"

"BC, went in on the third wave, escorted supplies and heavy patrols out of Hercules Base for the most of it before they transferred me to Ares," Trudy said as Xander stared at her in shock.

"No shit? God, I hated Ares Outpost! They had the most obnoxious coms master," Xander said as the young soldier laughed.

"Yeah, with the nasal problems… What was his name?," Trudy stared off into space a moment before snapping her fingers, "Keef, that was it! Made you want to punch him every time he opened his mouth." She laughed before shaking her head at the memory, "Whatever happened to him?"

"Caught a Highrise two-twenty round on the tower, no survivors." Xander said with a shrug "We must have been within a hundred yards of each other," Xander said before laughing. "All that money spent searching for you and we probably missed each other in the mess line."

Laughing at the absurdity of it all, Trudy let the smile drop as the call went out for pilots to report. Shrugging, she pushed her unfinished food towards Xander. "I'll see ya around." She half threatened before jogging off to catch up with the other pilots.

Smiling, Xander watched her go before turning back to his food; his Avatar should be tanked soon. He really wanted to take his for a spin.

--

A\N in the first chapter I have Xander shoot Tom, this is a mistake as Jake says that his brother was stabbed, I apologize for the mistake.

Also, while the game may have some back story on Trudy Chacon, I have not played it… so I'm making it up.


	4. Test Run

Xander stood out in the chilled night air of Pandora for a moment before removing his mask and looking up at the massive gas giant Polyphemus above.

"You lose your mask you're unconscious in twenty seconds and dead in four minutes. Lets nobody be dead today, it looks very bad on my report."

The words of the crew chief echoed in his memory as he slowly took a deep breath of the hostile, toxic Pandoran air.

Five seconds. His vision was a bit blurry and his lungs burned. Ten. Tunnel vision had set in as a hacking cough worked its way through his lungs. Twenty. Near blackout as his body struggled to pull in what didn't exist, not in this environment at least.

At five minutes, Xander slid the mask back in place and inhaled the oxygen his body craved.

Immortality, eternal youth, undying; wars had been fought over such a thing for millennia, empires had bankrupted themselves looking for it, men had wasted their lives searching for the answer and Alexander Harris had gotten the entire thing shoved down his throat by a friend that was "just trying to help." It was an action he had long since stopped cursing her for, it didn't seem to help anyway.

"Are you really still angry about that?" a voice whispered from behind him. Turning, Xander smiled at the only one from the old gang to still be around. "I can't die, I can't grow old and I am damned to watch my species kill each other off until only I remain." Xander said before sitting down on the alien soil and staring back up at the sky. "I used to think Elrond was just being an ass when he tried to force his daughter away, but this is a living hell. A hell I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies." Xander explained as the ethereal form sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"We tried to find a way Xander. We looked through every book and tome we could find to discover a cure, we even summoned Inpu to try and find a way to free you… and in the end we died and left you all alone," she said quietly as Xander watched the swirling gas giant so far above.

"Not alone, Dawnie, you're still here." He whispered before a momentary chill passed over him.

"No Xander, I'm not." She whispered before the ghostly form faded into the twilight gloom.

Taking a deep breath through the filter mask, Xander stood up and made his way towards the complex. Stepping inside, he removed the mask and hung it back on its rack before stretching and heading towards his bunk.

He was mildly surprised when he rounded a corner and ran into a wheelchair bound man sending both of them to the ground. "Hey man I'm sorry I…" Xander trailed off as he finally got a look at the man he had assaulted "Tom?" he whispered in confusion. He recognized the face immediately, even after several centuries you never forget someone you kill.

"No, I'm Jake, Jake Sully. Tom's brother." The man said as he put his chair back up and crawled back into it, "You knew my brother?" Jake asked as Xander got back to his feet.

"No, not really… I only met him the one time before he…" Xander trailed off with a shrug as Jake nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, well, I gotta go… big day tomorrow." Jake said before wheeling off in the direction of his bunk.

Watching him go, Xander let out a sigh before slumping against the wall. "Well, that was awkward… haven't had something that strange happen since I read my own eulogy a few centuries back." He muttered before heading off in his own direction.

Like Jake said, tomorrow was a big day.

--

The next morning, Xander entered the link room and tried to resist the urge to hack up a lung. While being immortal kept him from dying it did nothing for the damage he received that would cause said death. That of course made his one experience with a combine harvester a memory that still woke him up some nights with phantom pains.

Smirking past the pain, Xander made his way to an empty bed and walked through the start up process. While the science geeks running about could have easily helped, his 'Conversation' with Dr. Grace Augustine had not endeared him into the Doctor's good graces.

Not that it really mattered, but at least she would leave him alone. Sliding into the bed, Xander nodded to the watch technician before hitting the activation button and resisting the urge to panic as the coffin lid closed over him.

"Bury me once, shame on you. Bury me eighteen times… and you need a new job." At least he hadn't gotten himself killed since they started the mandatory cremation laws a few decades past that would likely be unpleasant.

As the link finally kicked in Xander exhaled and felt himself get dragged towards his new body.

--

Xander stood in the morning sun the next day as he ran his new body through its paces the medics had ordered him to follow. Limbering up Xander smiled as one of the massive ampsuits moved one of the few boxes he had paid a small fortune to get transported out here with him and dropped it on the ground before stomping off.

Flipping the driver off Xander moved over to the box and carefully lifted the lid, inside was enough weapons to put a Roman Legion to shame. Shifting through them, Xander checked for damage before picking up a spear that had been massive just a few hours earlier and hefted it easily in one hand before reaching for the tall oval shield that was usually paired with it.

He had picked up the habit of using this combination during his time in Africa, before it had been annexed by the Russian Federation, conquered by the Italians, and finally 'liberated' by the new Swiss Union.

That had been an odd century and a half, Xander thought as he ran through a war dance with his weapons; the tail almost had a mind of its own he realized as his body shifted its center of gravity naturally.

Spinning around, Xander froze as an Avatar still in its hospital gown stumbled out of the medical center before working its way into a run. Watching the puppet run, Xander smiled before going back to his own activities.

Some things were just not worth asking about.


	5. Bad Ol' Puddy Tat

Xander smiled as he happily ignored the egghead that Doctor Grace had stuck him with. Not that he had anything against the man personally, but Xander did not know, care, or want to know and or care about the symbiotic relationship involved between the native 'slingers' and their offspring. While he thought it was freaking cool that it shot it's head at things, he had discovered long ago that not knowing the intricacies involved kept it cool much longer then an in-depth explanation on the hows and whys involved.

Dropping his spear on a nearby trunk, Xander nodded absently at the man's warnings to not wander far before he moved into the jungle. He had been in jungles before, back on earth, before they had been paved over at least. Walking through the trees, Xander let the memories flow back to him, the sheer pressure of life around him now was something even the most crowded megopolis back on earth failed to equal.

Everything around him was eating, breathing, moving, living. From the ground below, to the swaying leaves and branches above and higher, everything was alive.

Taking a deep breath, Xander broke into a run through the jungle. Moving through the underbrush, he felt the ancient stirring of the Hyena start to awaken from its century long rest. While not an open savanna, as it would prefer, the feeling of moving through this wild place felt oddly, right to the Primal Spirit.

His run was interrupted by the staccato beat of gunfire from the landing site. Skidding to a stop, Xander felt his blood chill at the roar that echoed through the jungle before sprinting back the way he had come.

Breaking into the clearing he had only recently left, Xander took in the sight of a massive six legged demon ripping into a tree as it tried to reach the scientists within the root system. Nearby lay the body of their security escort and the shattered remains of the machine gun. Pushing his new body to its max, Xander rushed the monster.

The tackle would have done any of the gene enhanced super athletes back on Earth proud. Xander was just happy that his body was stronger and the gravity lower than he was used to, it made tackling the beast idiotic, instead of suicidal.

Rolling on impact, Xander moved over the downed creature and kept going, hoping to put some space between them. Surging to his feet, he turned to face the creature again, only to discover that despite his skill, the massive black monster had already regained its footing and was in the process of leaping on him.

As the massive teeth made their way towards his skull, Xander had time for the thought that, gravity or no, attacking this thing had been suicidal after all.

So, crouching low, he leapt forward under the monster's jump before turning and backing away from his opponent. Xander was amazed at the speed the massive creature had, it had barely touched down before it was facing him again.

"What the hell are you?" Xander said as he scanned the clearing for anything he could use to fight this thing. His eyes fell longingly on his spear were it rested, a hundred yards beyond the monster. It may as well have been back on Earth for the good it was likely to do him.

Xander was brought out of his thoughts by the scientist as he yelled something at him, turning his head to hear better, Xander finally caught the answer to his question.

"Thanator, they named you after Death?" Xander asked in shock as he stared at the monster before him, while it was descriptive it was about as original as naming a Rhino 'Big Grey Pointy Nose' it just didn't have that flare for ironic drama.

Pulling his knife from its sheath, Xander held the blade carefully so as not to lose it in the coming fight "Bring it, you Doctor Seuss reject from hell." He snarled before charging the monster.

--

"Three little kittens, they lost their mittens" Xander sang to himself as he lay against the still form of the Thanator. While not his prettiest fight ever, he had at least managed to pull off rule one so he wasn't going to complain about it too much.

Forcing himself to his feet, Xander looked over at the scientists he had managed to save before pulling the knife from the dead predator, all he wanted now was a nice hot shower, a big bowl of food and a three day sleep.

No matter how many fights he was in, the adrenaline crash always sucked. As he fell to the ground, Xander finally noticed he was leaking from places he probably shouldn't be. Not that he expected any different after a fight like that, but as the battle haze finally lifted, the pain from his injuries came rushing back.

Groaning in pain, Xander forced himself up again as he did a quick check for critical damage before deciding that he could get back to the chopper with some help.

Taking a step in the general direction he remembered his ride being in, Xander was surprised by a weight landing on his leg sending him tumbling to the ground as sharp pain flooded from the location of the attack.

Looking down, Xander blinked at the pint sized Thanator that was currently gnawing on his appendage.

Reaching down, he peeled the small carnivore off his leg and held the hissing hellspawn at arm's length before looking back at the gob smacked researchers; it took his mind a minute to realize what had happened before looking over at the Thanator he had killed earlier.

Moving around it, Xander sighed at the distinct lack of male parts before looking down at the struggling cub in his hands.

"Well, shit," he grumbled before shifting the cub to a position it couldn't scratch or bite him from and limping over to the packs, the teeth were enough to tell him that it was a solid food eater already and he would much prefer it gnaw on some of the jerky he had brought with him rather than the odd appendage it managed to reach.

As the scientists gathered their gear and the fallen soldier, Xander made it to his pack and dug through it quickly. Finally getting the small headache to gnaw on the meat, he shifted his pack to his back before stumbling towards the transport, he was almost out of the clearing before turning around and scanning the area again with a frown "What happened to my spear?" he asked as the researcher walked past with a shrug.

After a moment of searching, Xander growled and followed them back to the chopper.

Behind him, a blue hand carefully held the spear before disappearing into the jungle.


	6. To Boldly Go

Xander sat at the table as he listened to the good doctor narrate the adventure they had out in the woods.

"So the last thing we see is soldier boy here running off into the woods with this massive Thanator chasing after him," Grace says mockingly as Jake shrugs and gets back into his story.

Shaking his head, Xander groaned as his watch beeped, alerting him that it was time to deal with his own headache. So, shoveling the last of his food into his mouth, he stood and headed for the exit.

--

"Harris"

Xander took a moment to roll his eyes before turning to his current problem, "Colonel. How can I be of service today?" he asked as the aged veteran moved up and walked with him towards the link room.

"I hear you picked up a pet out there. Now while I love a cute puppy or kitten as much as the next guy, I can't let one of the native monster loose in my compound." Quaritch explained.

Xander nodded in understanding, "Yeah, that kinda snuck up on me. But while I'm here, I want to study these Thanators, see if we can Genome them for Earth standards." Xander said before getting a shark-like smile "I would have loved to drop a couple of those sons of bitches into the outback of Cambodia. Let the local guerrillas deal with them, instead of looking for my scalp," He explained as Quaritch laughed and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Now that's an idea I can get behind," he said before getting thoughtful. "Still, the notion of one of those inside the perimeter is not something that gives me warm fuzzies at night," he said and after a moment's thought he finally snapped his fingers as an idea hit him. "Hell, might as well get you transferred out to Cerberus base, not as nice a place as Hellgate here, but it should do for ya. How's that sound?"

Considering it a moment, Xander nodded. "Sounds fine. Will I be out there on my lonesome or will I have company?

"Small research team is already out there being watched over by Captain Boone. He's a bit of a hardass that one, but a good soldier all the same," Quaritch explained before shrugging. "Can't exactly tell him your history, but I'll make sure he knows that you're good people," He said before slapping Xander on the shoulder again. "Get packed up and moved, I'll clear you with the flight deck before I head out today."

Watching him break off and move down a side corridor, Xander shook his head. "Great, someone he thinks is a hardass. This guy must be a real charmer," Xander muttered before heading into the link room, he had a monster to feed after all.

--

Creeping through the underbrush, he ignored all distractions. His prey had recently entered his domain. Shifting under a collection of Bola leaves, he stared as his target moved closer. Lying flat to avoid being seen, he took a deep breath and held it for a split second before leaping.

--

Moving through the carefully tended plants within the compound, Xander thanked the advanced senses the Avatar body gave him as he hunted. "Heeeere Sylvester, you bad ol' puddy tat, you. Heeere Sylvester," Xander called softly as he brushed the leaves away and searched for the problem he had orphaned.

With a rippling snarl, a three foot long, clawed torpedo exploded out of the underbrush and latched onto his leg with six sets of razor sharp claws and a mouth full of fangs.

With a muffled scream of pain, Xander set about detaching the clawed menace. After a moments work he managed to grasp it by the scruff of the neck and pull it up to eye level. "You little monster," he growled before shifting it about so he could hold it without it clawing the hell out of him. "I swear, if I could I would hand you over to a Chinese restaurant and be done with it." He grumbled as he made his way to the feeding station. He was the only one that the kit would take food from. Something about printing like a duck, he wasn't entirely sure what that was about, but the egg heads assured him it was natural, so he just ignored it.

--

Far away, in the Great Plains Tribe the People of the Pa'Li listened to the story of the unil-tìran-tokx, the dream walker that had faced the Palulukan in single combat with nothing more than a blade.

Listening closely to the battle being recounted, Endu'ha stared into the flames before interrupting the hunters tale, "Carry this tale to the four winds, let all the plains tribes hear and understand." She said as the entire clan listened to their Tsahik's orders. "This hunter is to be brought before me. Any tribe that slays him shall face the might of our warriors, this is the will of Eywa." She announced as the entire clan burst into a flurry of activity.

Turning towards the Hometree, she paused as Akwey stepped up to her side.

"Is this truly the will of Eywa?" He watched his mate for a moment as she stared at him before nodding. "Then our warriors will obey," He said before turning and moving off to prepare for the coming hunt.

Watching him go, Endu'ha whispered a silent prayer to Eywa for their protection before turning back into the tree.

--

Xander sat in the co-pilots seat as Trudy piloted him towards Cerberus Base, behind him his Avatar slept with the caged Thantor kit gnawing its way out of the titanium cage they had shoved it into for transportation.

"So are all the bases named after some version of hell?" he asked as the pilot smiled.

"Sure are, Hellsgate, Cerberus Base, Styxian outpost, Chicago, we decided not to sugarcoat the truth out here." She explained with a smile as Xander turned a cold glare at the Slayer.

"I happen to like Chicago," he growled as his pilot simply smiled all the more.


	7. and through the woods

Xander took a deep breath as he rushed through the Pandora Great Woods. After a headache of epic proportions, it had been explained to him that Thanators were similar to dogs in their need to roam, to patrol their territory and to attack any challengers to their dominance. Something Xander had learned that the little headache took very seriously in the last two weeks since his arrival at Cerberus Base.

Pushing his borrowed body to its absolute maximum, Xander gave a leap and managed to tackle Sylvester and the two rolled to a stop as the small Thanator struggled to get free and go after the small bird lizard that had been eluding him for the past five minutes.

Gasping for air as he held Sylvester, Xander tried to ignore the spots that had started to appear in front of his eyes as his body worked to drag oxygen into his lungs.

As his heart rate settled, he dragged the petulant cat up to eye level and glared, "With a name like yours there is no way in hell I am letting you go after birds," Xander growled as he shook the small cub slightly to break its focus on the bird that had happily settled on a tree limb nearby.

After a moment of glaring, he finally rolled over and forced himself to his feet. "I swear if I start getting a bill from the Acme Novelty store, I'm gonna turn you into a hat." He swore before turning back towards the base.

Captain Boone had been very clear in where his boot would go if he was forced to keep the security fence down due to Xander's 'Gallivanting off into the woods.' Something that made Xander pretty sure the good Captain didn't like him.

"Xander."

Turning towards the sound of the voice, Xander frowned at the ethereal form of Dawn as she motioned him to be quiet and follow.

Dropping into a crouch, Xander whispered thanks to the near manic game of 'Hide and Seek' the small Sylvester had been playing with him recently before softly following Dawn into the woods.

To hell with Boone.

--

Two hours later, Xander was still skulking after Dawn when she walked into the middle of a clearing and promptly disappeared.

Looking the area over for any signs of traps, Xander looked down at the sleeping Thanator he carried before shrugging and moving into the clearing himself, he would trust Dawn on this.

Halfway into the clearing, he froze as the shadows from the rapidly setting sun shifted quickly away from him, dropping to the ground Xander felt the cub tense up as a throaty growl started to fill the air, looking towards the sound Xander noticed the odd bulges resting in the trees above.

"Forest Banshees, great." Xander muttered before tearing off into the rapidly darkening forest with all the speed learned from a long history of being chased.

His screams could be heard for miles.

--

Dropping to his knees to breathe, Xander glared at the smiling form of Dawn as she stood on the far bank of the river where he had finally managed to lose the hell-buzzards. "You could, *Gasp* have just *Wheeze* brought me here" Xander managed to wheeze out before coughing as his body tried to hack up a lung.

"You would have never made it in time," The spiritual form said as Xander frowned.

"In time for wha-" he managed before a heavy blow to the back of his head knocked him out.

Eyelids fluttering as he stared up at the blinking lights of the link bed, Xander growled out several curses to his friend before getting up to stretch, it would be a few hours before he could link back up with his Avatar, if it was still alive of course.

"I hope Sylvester's okay." He muttered before heading in search of food.

--

Endu'ha watched as the hunters returned with the bound form she had been searching for. She spared a moment to glare at the warrior that dropped his unconscious form onto the ground before bending over him and smiling. "Bring him," She ordered before moving back into Hometree. Should she live a thousand generations, she doubted she would ever find one as close to the prophecy as this.


End file.
